Best and Worst of 2021 in Buffalo, NY- BoredomMD.com

Best

  1. Best Bands
    1. Best Band –Grosh and Grace Stumberg Band
    2. Great Band- 77 Stone
    3. Best Tribute Band- On the Tiles- Led Zeppelin (however, they need to rebrand their name which is currently terrible)
  2. Best Things That Didn’t Happen
    1. Taking down the Skyway and creating a traffic nightmare
    2. Not building Queens Landing with 23 Floors at the Outer Harbor but at least Freezer Queen building is gone
  3. This falls under best and worst- Cuomo- started out handling covid better than anyone in US but evolved into egocentric behavior after a while. And, as for his sexual conduct- “he didn’t realize the generational shifts that have occurred.” Hello, grabbing boobs has NEVER been acceptable. So, goodbye Cuomo. And, the best – Kathy Hochul has become governor and we expect great things from her.
  4. Air Show at the Outer Harbor. Mixed view of location – great to see planes over water but totally lacks all the ground plane displays that are available at the Niagara Airport where it has been previously held. Also, the ticket price of $150 a car was outrageous since most air shows across the country are FREE.  Unfortunately, the fog didn’t help things and since Father’s Day was the next day, many ticket holders were unable to go the next day and didn’t see much.

Worst

  1. No music at Canalside- ECHDC wants to move concerts to Outer Harbor. Concerts should be in both locations and $5. Everyone likes Canalside but nothing other than roller and ice skating/activities are happening there. Canalside is only fun place in downtown Buffalo.
  2. Using prime space at Canalside for Carrousel and Long Shed. Yes, Carrousel complements Explore and More and Long Shed complements the Naval Area BUT, neither will have significant public draw AND they used up prime real estate. Both are beautiful buildings but locations of both should have maybe been nearby but not there.
  3. Of 780 Police in Buffalo, there are only two tasers.
  4. The Police Budget has a perfect attendance incentive. The Police need an incentive to show up for work? Wow, wish the rest of us had that. It was $20,057 for 2018-2019 and in 2019-2020 had $838,239 and for 2021-22 it is $786,522 for perfect attendance incentive.
  5. Tifft Nature Preserve- the city we believe is responsible for the parking lot. For YEARS it has had large, deep potholes. The City needs  to pave it and fix the road going back to the center.
  6. Tifft Nature Preserve- needs wood chips in wet areas to the left before the boardwalk and after the boardwalk (about 50 feet after it at end). To right after the bridge-wood chips before boardwalk. Has been muddy for years. Management needs to be enhanced.
  7. Tifft Nature Preserve- They need to relocate the new beaver- it has chewed the nesting trees for birds on the boardwalk to the right after the bridge and made a dam at the bridge which will result in flooding.
  8. The City of Buffalo has at $14.8 Million Surplus at the end of 2021. Yet, the roads are miserable in Buffalo. Scott Street near Hofbrauhaus—pot holes, no signs indicating access to South I-190.
  9. The Mayor’s Race- What a nightmare. First, we have Byron Brown who refuses to participate in many debates and then we have India Walton – heart is in the right place but lacked experience.
  10. Steve Pigeon, former Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman, charged with six counts of sexual assault and sexual intercourse against an 11 year old girl in 2016. Why is he just going to court now in 2021 after five years? Apparently, it was not until 2020 that the girl told her mother about the crime. Pigeon has been awaiting sentencing on state charges of bribery and federal charges of illegal political donations for more than two years. So, meanwhile all this time he has not been sentence for two years just for his previous crimes?
  11. Clear and easy website offering services- whether it is a list of free covid testing locations – quick and longer result version, heating, roof grants, septic grants, how to get aid to homeless person (they are supposed to go online or appear in person at city office—really- they are homeless), etc. No matter what info you are seeking, it is a total hassle.
  12. Buffalo Bills Stadium Discussions. Key issues remain.
    1. 60,000 vs. 70,000 seats- why reduce seats when you have a sold out stadium. Supposedly the extra 10,000 cost too much. How much?
    2. In August the OP stadium was $1.1 Billion, now it is $1.35 Billion. What happened to raise the costs $250 million?
    3. How much extra for covered stadium? Publicize the cost so people know.
    4. There are only ten days of use by the Buffalo Bills. How can the stadium be used for many more events? Reduce debt, reduce taxpayer outlay.
    5. What happens to the old stadium?
    6. How much will ticket prices go up – new stadium and 10,000 less seat? This number should be made available to the public.The current average price is $82 to $101 in 2021.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_National_Football_League_stadiums)